rpgfandomcom-20200222-history
Wyld Odyssey Life
=The Realm of Dream and Synapse= Some rare few among the Solar Exalted, and a fair few of the Alchemical Exalted, are old enough to remember the Realm of Brass and Shadow. The place which they came from is commemorated in memorials and murals; and at the same time, everyone breathes easily (literally and figuratively) that they live in the Realm of Dream and Synapse instead. Autochthonia, before Autochthon was cured, was a realm inimical to life; a dark, dusty, smoky, gritty, greasy world of grinding gears, gnashing cogs, conveyor belts that served no discernible purpose whatsoever. Occupational Health and Safety concerns were rare even inside the cities, and the world they lived in epitomized a Health and Safety inspector's nightmare. The Realm of Dream and Synapse is not old Autochthonia, even if Bathistophon does allow his world-body to be referred to by the same name out of monumental respect for what was. While the Realm of Dream and Synapse is not perfectly benign, it isn't the nightmare of cogs and gears that once was; in fact there are relatively few moving parts compared to the old days. Massive conduits of crystal and metal crackle with discharges (internally, always safely behind a safety shroud unless it has been removed) of thought as the Great Dreamer ponders the imponderables of the universe. Main corridors and passageways are always well-lit, though small crawl-ways may not be quite so well-illuminated, holographic displays show information that may be useful and relevant, may be fascinating, or may seem to be utter gibberish. The Bathistophonian Aesthetic Holden called a spade a spade when he called out the aesthetic of Autochthon as Steampunk. I shall do you the same courtesy and call out the aesthetic of Bathistophon as Science-Fiction, and more specifically leaning towards the polished, bright future than the grungy, lived-in future, though by no means uninclusive of that sort of aesthetic. Basically, if you want to think of the aesthetics of Bathistophon's Autochthonia, think of iPods, think of Star Trek, think of Star Wars. Think of Homeworld and Homeworld 2, and Wing Commander (Prophecy). Think well-lit corridors, mid- to high-gloss surfaces, gleaming black LCD touchscreens. This is the Bathistophonian aesthetic, it's the aesthetic of the Exiles' mobile homeworld, and specifically of the Alchemical Exalted specifically. Think closer to mecha anime like Zone of the Enders for your obvious installed Charms than to the Iron Kingdoms. Smooth surfaces that light up and pulse from within, solid-state essence circuitry and the like. :I should point out that the old steampunkian aesthetic stuff works, mind you, but only the old timers still have any like that, and most of them probably rebuilt their old steampunk charms to match the new aesthetic in the sake of unity long ago. There's no mechanical difference. The Elemental Poles of Bathistophon For the most part, the Elemental Poles found in Bathistophon are surprisingly similar to those that existed in Autochthon's world-body. They remain the most dangerous places to be (barring standing on the hull during some kind of bombardment or when flying through a hostile environment,) however, and the lives of thousands of incautious mortals have been lost working near the poles since the exodus began. Two poles, however, are not; the new pantheon of six elements is Coolant, Steam, Crystal, Metal, and Lightning. The Element of Coolant Where once Autochthon had vast tankage of oil has become the Elemental Pole of Coolant. As an Element, Coolant is often just as dangerous, if not moreso, than Oil was: coolant can be a ferocious poison, and it can do horrible things to the surface of a person if they get it splashed upon them. Some forms of coolant can dissolve a man in seconds: to think that the Pole of Coolant won't kill you just as soon as Oil would have is a grave mistake. However, it's purpose has changed. Instead of being the foul, polluting stuff being combusted to provide energy for industry, Coolant is channeled (in properly-marked, double-walled conduits) throughout Autochthonia. Most of it travels straight from the Sea of Coolant to the Pole of Crystal, where it is vitally important in keeping the super-calculating cradle of Bathistophon's thoughts from overheating, but it is vitally channeled all over. Coolant lines keep industrial machinery from overheating, some forms of coolant function as lubrication, and cooling units help to keep living apartments at comfortable temperatures. Massive clusters of coolant lines run throughout the Sword of Autochthonia, and vast quantities of coolant are vaporized with each shot, boiled into toxic steam which has to be condensed in safe housing units while more coolant moved in to take it's place, to prevent the weapon from overheating. The Sea of Coolant itself occupies the bottom third of Autochthonia (and no, it's probably not worth asking how the position of an entire elemental pole shifted to diametrically opposite it's old location. Such questions are beyond the ken of even the Exalted,) and indeed in that it defines the 'bottom' of Autochthonia, just as the Pole of Crystal defines the 'top' and the Pole of Lightning defines the fore. Coolant elementals changed relatively little in the change-over: Susharra's nature was carefully changed when Autochthon's did. She is now the Empress of Blue Waters, though not all forms of Coolant are blue. The Element of Steam The true Elemental Pole of Steam has changed relatively little in the exchange from Autochthon to Bathistophon; it is now the port-side pole of Autochthon, defining "left" when facing forward. It is still a vast gulf of a chamber, full of steam superheated to a temperature that would destroy a mortal - or indeed, many an incautious Exalt - in a bare second. Within this gulf-like chamber are thousands of miles of magically pure copper, never-melting yet conducting energy straight from the Elemental Pole of Lightning. Heshassa still dwells within the vast Oricalcum tube which was it's dwelling point since it was willed into existence. Within Autochthonia, steam still plays the vital role it has always played. Steam tubes provide temperature regulation in the form of heat (as opposed to Coolant, which removes heat from an overheated environment,) it sterilizes medical equipment, heats baths and showers, and its expansion provides motive force for many of the things Autochthonians still construct. Steam drives the vast crystalline turbines that provide a significant fraction of Bathistophon's essence regeneration. The Element of Crystal Located at the definitional top of Autochthonia, the Elemental Pole of Crystal is much as it was. Vast beyond measure, the crystalline cathedrals at the 'top' of Autochthonia are the home of Bathistophon's thought processes. Energy tingles in the air, and at any time a massive crystalline column which one might think is a support might light up and crackle, humming or even roaring with the processes of Titanic thought; at times, when many nearby crystalline synapses become active, it can forge an orchestra or symphony of sensation that everyone can feel is obviously magical. Venturing deeper within, one may find the other various support systems that compose Bathistophon's brain: inwards of his memory are the main processors; vast, nigh-indestructible plates of Adamant, etched with pure Oricalcum inlays crackling with energy brought directly from the Pole of Lightning, fueled by motonic regeneration from nearby crystalline turbines which are spun up by hyper-pressurized steam from the Pole of that element, giving off motes into the whole assembly which are immediately captured and consumed to fuel Bathistophon's pondering. Thousands of the plates, in size ranging from hundreds of miles tall and wide to handy size for mortal manipulation, compose Bathistophon's active thought processes both large and small; many of them need to be kept cool by air circulation, while the largest plates must be immersed in liquid coolant to function. Needless to say, the Elemental Pole of Crystal is, for the most part, a hearing protection area - such requirements are clearly marked long before one gets to the point where one will need the hearing protection. There is, however, an area of absolute calm at the heart of the crystal cathedral; the residence of the Core of Bathistophon. The Core is the Fetich Soul of the Great Dreamer, and it takes the form of a silvery orb, gargantuan in size; inside a vast chamber of adamant plates and holographic glyphs. The Core rests around a massive tube of Adamant, on which it may raise and fall freely if it so desires; within is a channel to the Elemental Pole of Vacuum, which is what rests within the tube - nothing, which makes it magnificently conductive to the pulsing and even raging beams of light that channel through it. Though blindingly bright, no one, not even a mortal babe, will be blinded by these raging beams of light that form the very heart of Bathistophon's thought; even if every processor-plate in the Pole of Crystal were shattered, as long as the tube assembly - and the vast network of vacuum pipes and light-loci above the Core - remain intact, Bathistophon will remain hale and whole. Here can be accessed the sum total of all the knowledge that was possessed by Autochthon and now is possessed by Bathistophon. One with access may use the hologlyphic terminals around the room and in it's antechambers to access information on an infinite variety of topics. Needless to say, such access is rarely granted, even to the Chosen of the Incarnae or the Champions of Bathistophon, as the damage a mischief-minded person could cause would be astronomical; they could, potentially, succeed in erasing facts from Bathistophon's memory, altering facts, or planting false information. This would be devastating, as Bathistophon would have no means of telling what was fact and what was fiction without thoroughly deconstructing and analyzing any suspect topic from the ground up. In the early days of the exodus, the Core was the command center of Autochthonia; the Divine Ministers often communed with Bathistophon directly from the Core housing, though new locations fulfill that role now. The Element of Metal Defining "right" and "starboard" in relation to Autochthonia's travels, the Elemental Pole of Metal is a vast and frightening foundry of machinery. Out of all of Autochthonia, the Elemental Pole of Metal most resembles Autochthonia-that-was. It is within the foundries of the Elemental Pole of Metal that the resources strip-mined from Creation are slowly returned from Elsewhere and processed, and it is from these foundries that mortal and Exalt alike may take inspiration for new forms of industrial process. It is also very dangerous; however, like all of Bathistophon's world-body, the danger is clearly marked; signage and glyphs loudly proclaim machinery that starts and stops of it's own volition, and bright yellow warning markers denote areas which may become hazardous at any time with or without warning. Without a doubt, the Elemental Pole of Metal may be the most hazardous to navigate; respiration protection and hearing protection is vital in most of it, and some portions which handle materials most toxic might require full environment suits to operate within. None of this bothers the hardy Metal Elementals, of course, who sometimes resent the intrusion of 'soft' mortals on the work-site; their presence slows things down. The don't like accommodating 'squishy' mortals, and will often attempt to shoo them through their business and away as fast as possible. The Progenitor of Metal remains Geodesus. When Autochthon sensed himself becoming Bathistophon, he realized the toxicity that Geodesus' scattered mercury form would represent to the mortals, how Geodesus had been slowing poisoning them for millennia. This time, he forged a vast tank of indestructible Soulsteel with a Moonsilver liner, and swept all of the Metal Progenitor within. Try as he might, no form that Geodesus takes is mighty enough to burst the Soulsteel, and no form is subtle and small enough to slip through any gap in the Moonsilver which frustrates his endless efforts to escape. The immense tank housing Geodesus contains another, smaller tank; this is the vast Soulsteel and Adamant tank that contain the Hun souls of unknown million mortals, separated from their Po souls when Autochthon consumed them. The Great Maker had no use for them, but not knowing what would happen if they were simply released, decided to keep them incarcerated in the tank. He has kept this fact secret for all of this time. The Element of Lightning Defining "Forward," the Elemental Pole of Lightning provides electrical power to all of Autochthonia. It has changed very little in function and concept in the transition from Great Maker to Great Dreamer, but in form it has changed greatly. Copper- and Oricalcum-cored conduits still feature strongly, but so do vast power stations where steam drives iron-wrapped copper turbines, as do generators of monumental power, cracking motes of Essence to generate enough power to excite the contents of Vacuum-insulated Adamant tubes into crackling plasma delivering the sort of power that would be unimaginable for copper to the hull of Autochthon to power sensor arrays and weapon systems, as well as directly to the Core of Autochthon, to fuel his intense concentration. For all that it's possibly the most energetic of Autochthon's Elemental Cores, the Pole of Lightning is quite probably the safest to work in or travel through; as long as one doesn't offend some Lightning elemental or irritable deity, and as long as one does nothing stupid, one should be as safe walking through the Pole of Lightning as they would be walking in the Concourse of Order in the shadow of the Tripartite Pagoda in the city of Estasia-Lookshy itself. It has a lesson from Bathistophon to all of those peoples within him. Properly done, power generation is boring, and if you value your life you keep it that way. The heart of the Pole remains the prison of Bodara, bound between a massive pair of five-mile-tall Oricalcum-wrapped cylinders of iron super-excited far past the merely molten stage and nearly to the state of plasma, the intense electromagnetic field produced within keeping the potentially-devastating giantess tightly bound at the heart of a chamber which is ten miles across in every dimension, and clearly marked as a deadly environment. The Element of Vacuum The Element of Vacuum was poorly understood when it was first discovered. Vacuum, after all, seems to be the complete and total absence of things, so how can it be an element unto itself? The absence of vacuum elementals seems to support this theory, yet Bathistophon said it was an Element, and so an Element it was. The Pole itself is a vast, twenty-mile sphere void space in the rear of Autochthonia; the heart of it is a sucking void into which all which is thrown vanishes. Gravitationally, it gives those who work near it the willies; those who are coreward (in the parlance of direction, 'coreward' means towards the center of Autochthonia, not the Fetich Soul of Bathistophon) feel lighter, as the pull of the Pole of Vacuum tugs them towards the 'ceiling', above them; those who work above the Pole of Vacuum, hullwards of it, feel heavier, as the pull of the core and of the pole combined. Those who work around it feel off-balance at all times, and are clearly marked as stumble areas. These effects are unnoticeable after about one hundred miles away in any given direction, and most pronounced when one is working directly next to the vast Soulsteel-and-Jade hull of the Pole. Going through an entry, however, is ill-advised: clearly-labeled as areas of extreme hazard, the fact is that once one has passed through the hull of the Pole, the gravitational pull of the core of Autochthonia cannot be felt at all - so it's a twenty-mile fall straight down into the lethal Pole of Vacuum. The Pole of Vacuum is essential to Autochthonia's ability to move. A resonating mimic of the Pole in the very heart of Autochthonia generates the gravitational pull towards the core, and the manipulation of the Pole itself provides the impetus to move the world-body of the Titan. The metropolis Xexas, once residing at the Pole of Smoke, now resides at the Pole of Vacuum, though 'around' the pole would be more accurate. It's Soulsteel towers now extend down almost to the black heart of the event horizon past which not even light escapes. That far down, mortals cannot operate, as the risk of being swept off by the semi-unpredictable gravitational tides is too great, though they can operate within the upper ten miles of the Pole without difficulty. The Pole's hull is not solid; rather, it is riddled with many, many holes, most of which are actually tubes connecting to other parts of Autochthonia, in order to keep vital equipment under vacuum insulation. The tubes have been creatively tapped by the residents in many places, and provide motive force via suction; as well, the Pole of Vacuum is the disposal of certain few things which have no redeeming qualities and are too dangerous to store safely. Every inlet tube is monitored; as Autochthonia's supply of air is not infinite, leaks in the vacuum system must be very swiftly located and repaired on the rare occasion in which they happen. =The Hull of Autochthonia= An unimaginably vast shell of metal in tones of gray, the Hull of Autochthonia is hardly unblemished. Vast, continent-sized plates of metal may be sharply contrasted with the colors of their neighbors, and all around the hull are constructions added later, by the mortal inhabitants; greenhouses, gunnery stations, sensor arrays, antennae of all sorts. There is a large equatorial trench running around the center of Autochthonia, within which are housed launch bays, docking bays, and even construction yards. The entire hull is studded with exceedingly tall towers at regular, if very large, intervals; during the transit through the Wyld, the tops of these towers projected the stabilization field around Autochthon that kept out the energy of the Wyld. During the first transition, the maintenance of these towers was of paramount concern; high above the hull on a tower that had to be reached by a perilous free-climb wearing only a low-pressure suit with a breathing mask, many a mortal lost his life to a mistaken grip or missed foothold in the constant battle to keep out the Wyld. The towers remain, maintained and ready to be activated should the Wyld or similar energies threaten again. The Memory of Woods Technically 'Greenhouse #51' the Memory of Woods is a name given to the vast construction on the hull of Autochthonia by Luna herself, when she first saw it from the Silver Chair. An oblong patch of green, a full thousand miles by fifteen hundred miles, this enormously massive adamant and jade greenhouse contains a vast patch of Creation's forests, taken from the borderline between the East and Southeast so as to maximize the amount of variation found within. Originally preserved Elsewhere with the hope of some day being planted on a new home, the Memory of Woods is now a vast woodland preserve, carefully regulated and supplied with air and water by thousands of hook-ups far underneath the soil. It is tall enough (to accommodate the height of the massive trees from towards the Pole of Wood back on Creation) that cloudy mist may sometimes form in the upper reaches, and rain may fall without being triggered from the tubes that crisscross the top, but you can never escape the fact that all around are stars; even during the daytime, when the light of the Daystar warms the greenhouse, there is no sky above save blackness with the light of the Daystar illuminating it. Animals roam free in the Memory of Woods, hunting, living, mating, and dying. This vital population is one of the few places the Lunar Exalted feel at peace, the jungle contained within a massive crater on the Silver Chair being one of the few other places. They and their followers act as game wardens, preventing the rare Autochthonians brave enough to venture into the artificial wild from causing a destabilizing impact on the forests. The Lighthouse of Eternity Constructed from the equatorial trench of Autochthonia, facing forward though a hundred miles left of the direct center, this vast array of antennae are magnificent and unique. Reaching forward into the stars ten miles above the hull, this array of straight-edged, thick wedge-shaped antennae, branching off seemingly in irregular shapes, conducts an immense amount of power. It took a century to build, and now the blinking, gloriously red and white array serves both as the communications array and locator beacon for Autochthonia, so that no matter how far out those of it's people who ply the stars might travel, they will always be able to find their way home. Hope's Harbor Directly above the Elemental Pole of Steam, Hope's Harbor is located 270 degrees from forward. It was in this leftmost, cavernous bay that Guiding Light of Hope ascended to the status of Metropolis, from which she first fired her mammoth Plasma Thruster Array and flew free of Autochthonia's pull and it's stabilization fields. Although Hope herself is too vast to return to this bay (though there are bays vast enough for her to dock in,) this harbor has the reputation as the site of the first launch, and as such is something of hallowed ground for the Autochthonians. Although located within the hull territory claimed by The Great Convergence, Hope herself knew no allegiance to any one nation, only to Autochthon (and then, to Bathistophon,) and so the harbor is administered as a neutral area, the launching point for many flights to and from Autochthonia and it's fleet. The Solar Monorail Chirmirajen is not an uncommon sight to see pulling into the harbor, where there is a dedicated sub-bay and substation made just for him with track pre-laid and where the brave and ancient mono has launch priority over all non-emergency flights. The Flying Tower After a few centuries of their exodus, the Divine Ministers realized that using the Core, home of the Fetich Soul of Bathistophon, as the sole control center of the Great Dreamer was a poor idea. As a meeting place it was highly suboptimal, given that they did not feel they could wholly trust those who might be called to meet. While most meetings took place aboard the Daystar in any event, they needed another place, a better place. The Flying Tower was the answer; a massive, sturdy construction of hullmetal exuded in sections by their manipulations of the pole of Metal, the Flying Tower stretches four miles high, and is a full mile around at it's thinnest point before the grand bridge at the top, while it is five miles wide at the base. Blisters around the tower's circumference house all manner of things, from barracks for the operators to weapon systems to control rooms. The main gunnery coordination center is below the surface of Autochthon, but directly below the tower and fully enclosed in it's own hull-metal egg, so it is considered part of the tower. The view from the top is incredible; a disk easily a mile and a half wide, five stories tall, serves as the bridge for all of Autochthonia; within a room at the heart of the disk is a vast conference room, which has served as the mediation center for numerous disputes, while information feeds from the Core are constantly sent to the bridge; the bridge crew itself stretches into the hundreds, with individual crewmembers (who may be mortal or divine but must absolutely hold loyalty first to Autochthonia above all else,) monitor segments of import, reporting to their commanders, who report up the chain until the High Bridge (a large room atop the main flying bridge) gets the reports. The High Bridge is manned at all times by most-trusted ministerial subroutines appointed by the Eight Divine Ministers. On very, very rare occasion, an Encounter Suit piloted by Bathistophon himself through the Core may appear on the High Bridge; he is of course given command over all others, though on occasions in which he does take this form it is usually to observe, as the Core can override all instructions from the Flying Tower. This has happened only once in the past five centuries, during the battle in which one of the Slaver's worlds was destroyed. Bathistophon personally gave the command to fire the Sword of Autochthonia at full power, feeling that no lesser being should take it upon themselves to cause the destruction of an entire world. He vanished after the battle, and has not commented since then. =Autochthonian Society= Society within Autochthonia bears strong resemblances to the Autochthonians who lived before Autochthon was cured, but they are not the same. The constant, grinding struggle to survive within has been supplanted primarily by a struggle to survive as a whole, on a scope difficult for the average person to truly grasp, despite his education. The societies within Autochthon are also not nearly so orthodox as once they were. This state of affairs less suits Bathistophon than is accepted as a necessary evil; his populations have far too many chaotic elements for an all-encompassing orthodoxy to stand up for long. He will settle for the stability to not have wars rage within his body, and receiving his due of worship. The Flyers It is a point to be known that no Nation within Autochthonia has a political presence outside Autochthonia. There is no Estasian-Lookshan Flying Dragon Corps, for example, no Convergence merchant-marine. The autonomy that the Nations enjoy is a social construct to give them enough freedom to feel at ease, to let them manage their own affairs; not the freedom to project their presence outside Autochthon. That would be akin to the Death Star's maintenance section pooling together their resources, assembling a fleet of shuttlecraft and TIEs from spare parts, and attempting to operate them independently of the Imperial Navy: not only would it not be tolerated, it would be crushed in very short order. Those who fly, those who said outside, do so having renounced allegiance to the nations of their birth or Exaltation. They fly for the fleet itself. The Celestial Exalted Once freed of his fear, Autochthon informed the Celestial Exalted of the existence of the Great Curse. They forgave him the fear that held him back from informing their ancestors, and together they struggled to lift the curse; more rational, more sane Exalted now take root within Autochthonia, more able to be the brilliant stars they were made to be. But how do they stand in Autochthonian society? It's a philosophical question which has been debated for the last two thousand years. In the early years, some felt it was their right to rule everything, as they had in eons past. This was quashed in short order when Ignis Divine stated in no uncertain terms that the Creation-Ruling Mandate was not an Autochthonia-Ruling Mandate, and it was the height of rudeness to presume to rule over a genuine Primordial who had done nothing to deserve enslavement. By the same token, the Celestial Exalted were too mighty for Bathistophon (or Sol, for that matter,) to claim lordship over them. The system that emerged has some striking parallels to the Peerage system amongst the Infernal Exalted and their Yozi masters. Officially, the Celestial Exalted have no standing beyond 'honored and mighty guest' within some of the internal nations, while others may welcome direct Celestial rule. This is tolerated - but what is not tolerated is the Celestial Exalted setting out to make themselves such rulers. Conquest, by daiklaive or magically-infused words, is not tolerated, for the simple reason that it would destabilize everything, and the last thing the Celestial Exalted want is to repeat the jealousies and conflicts of the First Age. For the most part this arrangement has worked out well, but some don't always get along so perfectly. Conflict is bound to emerge, but who can mediate disputes among such powerful beings? Each other. The Celestial Deliberatives In matters of the fleet's overall direction, the numbers of the Exalted are too many to include in the meetings; however, to exclude them entirely would be the height of insulting, not to mention potentially dangerous should the Exalted feel that they were being betrayed. Instead, the ranks of the Celestial Exalted aboard Autochthonia elect one of their number to represent the lot of them; by tradition a younger member of any given Exalt type, but not always so. Within their own ranks, the Deliberatives meet, generally once a month (and many if not most members by holo-conference) to discuss and vote on matters pertaining primarily to their own kind: the Lunars will meet to determine if a member needs to be censured for using magical powers for sexual dalliances, for example, while the Solars might be meeting to decide if the nation of Estasia-Lookshy should receive an official rebuke for casting out a Solar who attempted to meet with the Tripartite or if the member should be rebuked for trying to meet with a group which notoriously insulates itself from contact with supernaturals out of paranoid fear of undue mental (or physical) influence. It is worth noting with a sigh of relief that since the exodus began, there has never been an incident of one of the Celestial Exalted refusing the judgment of their Deliberative, nor an incident of sore tempers leading to a duel to the death. What do they do? In some ways, the Celestial Exalted seem almost to be superfluous to modern Autochthonian society. Nothing could be farther from the truth; as the people of any given need their Nation's Champions, the people of Autochthonia as a whole need the Celestial Exalted. It was they who cured Autochthon of his sickness, and it remains they who pioneer most of the great advances of Autochthonian life. It is their undying efforts that keep the people of Autochthonia living, and which keep the world-body and it's supporting fleet moving forward. At any given time, many of the Celestial Exalted may not even be on Autochthonia. Lunars are wont to fly back to the Chair to roam it's lunar landscape, in addition to being as often found off Autochthonia, aboard one of the great city-ships, as on Autochthonia. Solars might often be found on the Daystar; especially young ones, whom Nysela might send the Chirmirajen to collect. They are also frequently aboard the varying city-ships: by tradition, the point ship always has an Eclipse caste captain aboard, authorized to speak diplomatically for the fleet. Others may be exploring with their ships on the outskirts of any given locale; yet others stand ready aboard the city-ships to invoke mighty Sail and War charms to bolster ship and crew. But aboard Autochthonia, the official standing of the Celestial Exalted is muted. The Creation-Ruling Mandate not being an Autochthonia-Ruling Mandate, they are not empowered by divine decree to rule all that they see, and thankfully have taken this well. Most of the Solars, those who were not asked to rule by a people, live in secluded or semi-secluded places in the Reaches; off the beaten path, with a smattering of personal servants as they busy themselves with their own agendas, such as training, meditating or designing things, or simply relaxing. Others are engaged at any given time with some specific task set to them by the Deliberative, either something they volunteered for, or something they were asked to do and which no-one would refuse. Category:Exalted